Real Madrid legend Fernando Hierro says his former teammate Zinedine Zidane does have the experience to be a success as Los Blancos' coach.
Former Galactico player Zidane replaced Rafa Benitez as the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu outfit's first team coach last January, with his only previous managerial experience being two years as Carlo Ancelotti's assistant and a season-and-a-half in charge of the club's Castilla B team.
The Frenchman had a comfortable opening few games, hammering Deportivo La Coruna, Sporting Gijon and Espanyol at the Bernabeu, but his team have since dropped out of the Liga title race with draws at Real Betis and Malaga and a painful home defeat to local rivals Atletico Madrid.
Whether Zidane has the personality to do the job has been questioned by some former colleagues, with ex-Madrid midfielder Steve McManaman and former Juventus coach Marcello Lippi both saying they had not expected the previously quiet character to become a manager.
But the ex-Madrid captain and three-time Champions League winner told Canal Sur Radio, in quotes reported by AS, that Zidane was up for the challenge and could now put into practice all he had learned over his playing career.
"Zizou is very relaxed, he has a fantastic challenge in his life and for sure he will take advantage of it," Hierro said. "He knows where he is. There are people who say he lacks experience, but he has had 18 months preparation at Castilla, and had the best coaches in the world when he was a player. You learn from everyone. After retiring, you pick up concrete things from each one, and you apply your own vision."
Even after Saturday's 7-1 La Liga win at home to Celta Vigo, Zidane's side remain 12 points behind in-form Barcelona, with just 10 games remaining. They are better placed in the Champions League however, going into Tuesday's round-of-16 first leg at home to Roma with a 2-0 advantage from last month's first meeting in Italy.
Hierro said he did not expect the team to throw in the towel domestically, as the day to day work of preparing for La Liga games would help them be physically and mentally ready for the demands of a successful Champions League campaign.
"If there is a team that never stops fighting it is Madrid," he said. "They have a great squad and some magnificent players. In La Liga they are far from the title, you must admit it, but they will not give up. From there, the Champions League depends a lot on the draw, who you have to play. But it is fundamental not to disconnect from your day to day work, physically and mentally."